Leigh Catherall seeks investors to reopen Here to Serve Restaurants

Leigh Catherall, who co-founded Atlanta’s Here to Serve Restaurant brand 21 years ago with then-husband Chef Tom Catherall, told WXIA-TV she is looking for investors to reopen the

Here To Serve Restaurants CEO Leigh Catherall

company’s restaurants, but it is not financially feasible to reopen at this time.

Here to Serve Restaurant Group suddenly closed 10 popular Atlanta restaurants Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 leaving workers shocked and without paychecks that had been due Oct. 2.

Leigh Catherall told WXIA Friday she did everything she could to keep the businesses going, but that things have been difficult after becoming owner following the couple’s divorce.

“What I inherited was a very challenged business,” she told WXIA. “I don’t want to get into the details of that because it’s not appropriate, but the fact of the matter is it was a very challenged business. But, I agreed to take it over because I believed in it.”

Tom Catherall

Catherall said she has done what she could to get the group’s 650 employees paid. (Earlier estimates by employees had the company’s number of employees at about 1,000.)

“I have one personal asset which I have put on the table to make sure that the last pay period was paid for my staff,” she told WXIA’s Donna Lowry. “I’ve done what I possibly could to protect them and get them paid. I got them paid and I’m proud of that. In this business, it’s very unusual to have tenured staff. I have staff members that have been with me 20, 10, 8 years. “

The company distributed checks over several days after the scheduled Oct. 2 payday.

At least 75 people filed a lawsuit shortly after the closings. Attorney Gary R. Kessler, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the workers, said the intent is “to make sure these people are paid what they are entitled to.”

The lawsuit is expected to move forward because employees were not given 60 days notice the restaurants would close, WXIA reported.

Click here to view WXIA’s report and an interview with Leigh Catherall.